Market Beats | Copper Shatters $13,000 Ceiling as Trump Tariff Fears Trigger Global Supply Scramble; American Airlines to Offer Free High-Speed Wi-Fi to Loyalty Members; Rhode Island Governor Warms to Wealth Tax to Plug Federal Funding Gap; AMD Targets Nvidia’s Lead with MI400 Series and OpenAI Partnership at CES 2026; Lower Rates Drive Manhattan Home Sales as Co-op Activity Surges; Cooling Stocks Plunge After Nvidia CEO Hints at Chillers Becoming Obsolete; Trump Warns of Third Impeachment if Republicans Lose 2026 Midterms

—— Copper Shatters $13,000 Ceiling as Trump Tariff Fears Trigger Global Supply Scramble; American Airlines to Offer Free High-Speed Wi-Fi to Loyalty Members; Rhode Island Governor Warms to Wealth Tax to Plug Federal Funding Gap; AMD Targets Nvidia’s Lead with MI400 Series and OpenAI Partnership at CES 2026; Lower Rates Drive Manhattan Home Sales as Co-op Activity Surges; Cooling Stocks Plunge After Nvidia CEO Hints at Chillers Becoming Obsolete; Trump Warns of Third Impeachment if Republicans Lose 2026 Midterms

1. Copper Shatters $13,000 Ceiling as Trump Tariff Fears Trigger Global Supply Scramble

Copper extended its powerful rally on Tuesday, surging to a fresh all-time high of $13,387.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange. The rally followed Monday’s historic breach of the $13,000 mark, driven by aggressive inventory hoarding in the United States. Investors are betting that the Trump administration will soon impose tariffs on refined metal, following a Department of Commerce review due by late June. This anticipation has sucked massive volumes of copper into US COMEX warehouses—which now hold over half a million short tons, more than 50% of total global exchange stocks—leaving European and Asian markets severely undersupplied.

Li Xuezhi, head of research at Chaos Ternary Futures, noted that the traditional inventory buffer has effectively vanished as stocks remain “locked in the US,” forcing a global scramble for available material. While demand in China has shown signs of cooling, a fierce bidding war is emerging as prices spiked during both Asian and Western trading sessions. The LMEX Index, which tracks six major base metals, has soared to its highest level since March 2022. The “red metal” has now racked up a gain of more than 20% since late November, while aluminum is trading at its highest level in over three years.

Supply pressures are being further exacerbated by ongoing labor strikes at the Mantoverde mine in Chile and production delays in major projects across Indonesia and Ecuador.

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2. American Airlines to Offer Free High-Speed Wi-Fi to Loyalty Members

American Airlines Group Inc. is launching free high-speed Wi-Fi for its loyalty program members starting this month, a strategic move to close the gap with competitors who have led the way in premium onboard offerings. The Fort Worth-based carrier aims to complete the rollout across its entire single-aisle fleet, including Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s, as well as dual-class regional jets, by early spring. The service is being expanded through a partnership with AT&T, making free internet available on nearly all flights.

The connectivity is primarily powered by Viasat satellite technology, with additional support from SES subsidiary Intelsat. American Airlines is currently undergoing an operational overhaul to better compete with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, both of which invested earlier in premium cabin enhancements and superior onboard connectivity to attract high-spending travelers.

CEO Robert Isom recently mentioned that the airline has also held discussions with Amazon about potentially utilizing its nascent Leo satellite service to bolster future in-flight internet capabilities.

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3. Rhode Island Governor Warms to Wealth Tax to Plug Federal Funding Gap

After a turbulent economic year, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee is shifting his stance on taxing the wealthy to bolster state resources. A proposal to impose a 3% surtax on annual incomes exceeding $640,000—targeting the state’s top 1% of earners—is gaining traction among lawmakers. The move is driven by a significant budget hole caused by federal cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and other social safety net programs. McKee stated he is open to the surtax if it is bundled with tax relief for businesses and seniors, a pivot from his previous hesitation to raise taxes on top earners.

Rhode Island is projecting a deficit of at least $101 million for the fiscal year starting in July, a figure that could swell by an additional $70 million as the knock-on effects of federal cutbacks intensify. Democrats across the country are increasingly viewing wealth taxes as a tool to address a “K-shaped” economy, where high-income individuals continue to prosper while lower-income residents struggle.

Rhode Island is looking toward neighboring Massachusetts as a successful model; its 4% surtax on incomes over $1 million has generated a $6.2 billion windfall over the last three years.

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4. AMD Targets Nvidia’s Lead with MI400 Series and OpenAI Partnership at CES 2026

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) launched a major offensive against Nvidia’s AI market dominance at CES 2026, unveiling new hardware tailored for both enterprise and large-scale data centers. CEO Lisa Su introduced the Instinct MI440X, an enterprise-focused GPU designed for on-premises AI deployments, enabling companies to maintain data residency within their own facilities. Su also showcased the flagship MI455X chip and the “Helios” rack-scale platform, a liquid-cooled “monster” system built on the new 2nm “Venice” EPYC CPU architecture, scheduled for release in the second half of 2026.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman joined Su on stage to highlight a multi-generational partnership, including a massive 6-gigawatt (6GW) infrastructure agreement. OpenAI plans to begin the initial 1GW deployment of AMD Instinct MI450-series GPUs later this year. Looking further ahead, Su provided a roadmap for the MI500 series arriving in 2027, which is projected to deliver 1,000 times the performance of the 2023-era MI300 series.

While AMD’s data center revenue remains smaller than Nvidia’s, analysts project its 2026 revenue could soar to over $50 billion, bolstered by the Trump administration’s recent policy shift allowing advanced AI chip sales to China under a new 25% export fee framework.

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5. Lower Rates Drive Manhattan Home Sales as Co-op Activity Surges

Manhattan residential sales rose in the fourth quarter of 2025, fueled by declining borrowing costs that enticed rate-sensitive buyers back to the market. A report by Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman shows that over 2,600 condo and co-op purchases closed in the final three months of the year, a 5% increase from 2024. Notably, co-op transactions grew by 7% annually, outpacing condo sales growth for the first time in over a year.

Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, attributed the uptick to the “delayed effect” of mortgage rates falling from peak levels above 7% to a low of 6.15% by year-end. Co-ops, with a median price of $825,000 compared to $1.7 million for condos, served as the primary entry point for first-time buyers who had previously stayed on the sidelines. Despite the increase in financed deals, all-cash buyers continued to dominate, accounting for 65% of all sales—the second-highest share on record.

Analysts suggest that a strong stock market led many affluent investors to reallocate capital from equities into real estate.

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6. Cooling Stocks Plunge After Nvidia CEO Hints at Chillers Becoming Obsolete

Shares of data center cooling equipment makers plummeted on Tuesday following comments from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at CES 2026. Trane Technologies saw its stock tumble as much as 11% in its worst intraday decline since 2020, while Modine Manufacturing fell 21%. Industry peers Johnson Controls and Carrier Global also recorded significant losses as investors reacted to potential shifts in AI infrastructure design.

During his keynote, Huang noted that Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin chip platform is designed for high efficiency and can be cooled using 45°C liquid cooling, a temperature high enough to eliminate the need for traditional water chillers. Because chillers are a “predominant” revenue driver for companies like Trane and Johnson Controls in the data center sector, the prospect of their removal sparked long-term growth concerns. Analysts from Barclays and Robert W. Baird noted that while the transition to chiller-free “warm water” cooling might be gradual, Huang’s influence makes it difficult for the market to ignore the threat to traditional HVAC infrastructure.

Conversely, firms focused on precision liquid cooling, such as Vertiv and nVent, are viewed as better positioned for this technological pivot.

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7. Trump Warns of Third Impeachment if Republicans Lose 2026 Midterms

Michael Saylor has famously argued that Bitcoin’s volatility is “a feature, not a bug,” but investors are about to witness the downside as Strategy Inc. prepares to report a multi-billion dollar loss for the fourth quarter. This represents a stark reversal from the $2.8 billion profit reported in the prior quarter, driven by an unrealized loss on the firm’s roughly $60 billion Bitcoin stockpile after the cryptocurrency fell 24% during the period.

The anticipated hit stems from a 2025 accounting shift to fair-value reporting, which requires the company to recognize market fluctuations in its net income even if no assets are sold. Once a high-flying proxy for Bitcoin, Strategy saw its shares tumble 48% in 2025, leading to investor concerns regarding the company’s ability to meet dividend and interest obligations without selling its core asset. To address these fears, the firm established a $1.44 billion cash reserve in December by selling common shares.

With Bitcoin ending the year at $87,648—near the lower end of the company’s internal estimates—Strategy’s full-year operating loss is expected to trend toward the projected $7 billion mark.

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